China’s Influence on Platinum Prices

Platinum prices have climbed sharply in recent months, and China plays a big role in that rise. As the world’s top consumer of this rare metal, China’s actions are pulling prices higher through smart policies and new trading tools. In late 2025, the country labeled platinum a strategic critical mineral, which means it sees the metal as vital for its future needs like hydrogen fuel cells and advanced manufacturinghttps://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/chinas-strategic-critical-mineral-classification-of-platinum-its-investment-implications-for-global-pgm-supply-pricing-and-emerging-developers https://www.streetwisereports.com/article/2025/12/15/platinums-impressive-ascent-could-continue-through-2026.html.

China imports over 95 percent of its platinum because it has almost no mines of its own. This heavy reliance drives up global demand as factories use platinum in cars, chemicals, and jewelry. The strategic label signals long-term buying, which helps keep prices from dropping too low even in tough market timeshttps://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/chinas-strategic-critical-mineral-classification-of-platinum-its-investment-implications-for-global-pgm-supply-pricing-and-emerging-developers.

Adding to this, China launched platinum futures trading on the Guangzhou Futures Exchange in late November 2025. These contracts let local buyers and investors trade platinum directly, often in sponge form that matches what factories need. Prices on this exchange hit record highs quickly, with the main June contract jumping 7 percent to 527.55 yuan per gram in one session alone. Open interest surged as more traders piled in, fueled by gold’s rally and bets on lower U.S. interest rateshttps://www.tradingview.com/news/reuters.com,2025:newsml_L4N3XN0GT:0-china-s-platinum-palladium-prices-rally-on-surging-buying-interest/https://www.fxstreet.com/analysis/what-drove-the-strong-performance-of-platinum-group-metals-in-2025-202512151929 https://nai500.com/blog/2025/11/china-s-sponge-settled-platinum-futures-jolt-pgm-trade/.

This new exchange creates physical inventory demands that tighten supply worldwide. It pulls metal into China, challenges London’s long-held pricing power, and gives Chinese firms better ways to hedge against price swings. Investors from China have also boosted bar and coin buying, making the country the biggest market for those products and adding more upward pressurehttps://finimize.com/content/platinum-and-palladium-prices-jump-to-record-highs-in-china https://www.ipmi.org/news/platinums-80-surge-3-hidden-forces-driving-it.